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garythegoat
garythegoat

Reputation: 1587

Can't configure git, missing .gitconfig file

when I try to config Git I receive the following error:

$ git config --global user.name "John Smith"
error: could not lock config file /Users/John/.gitconfig: No such file or directory

My root directory is completely missing a .gitconfig file. When I try to make a new one I receive this error:

$ touch ~/.gitconfig
touch: /Users/John/.gitconfig: No such file or directory

My git's location: 

$ which git
/usr/local/git/bin/git

I've tried reinstalling Git several times (running OSX Yosemite) and I'm still having the same issue. I also cannot locate any .gitconfig.lock files, as mentioned in some posts regarding this issue.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 20398

Answers (3)

shalitha anuradha
shalitha anuradha

Reputation: 119

I solved that. By adding .gitconfig file to the Home directory. Now it works fine.

Upvotes: 0

M.Saha
M.Saha

Reputation: 11

For me the .gitconfig file was missing.I tried reinstalling Git several times, however it din't help me. I resolved the issue by performing the below steps.

  1. create a folder structure c:/dev/home if already not present.
  2. Open the Windows command prompt. (Run as administrator)
  3. From the Windows command prompt, run the command "git init"
  4. Run the following command: git config --global user.name "Example"
  5. Run the following command: git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

The above steps will create the .gitconfig file in the path c:/dev/home and you will be able to set your desired username and email id.

On Windows systems, Git looks for the .gitconfig file in the $HOME directory (C:\Users\$USER for most people). So copy the file created in the above step to your Home directory by providing the required permission.

Upvotes: 1

garythegoat
garythegoat

Reputation: 1587

So I ended up solving this issue by reading the Customizing Git section of the documentation.

While I could not touch a new .gitconfig file in my root directory as stated above, I read that the first place Git looks for configuration values is in etc/gitconfig (note the lack of a . in the name).

So I created a file called gitconfig inside of the etc directory and filled it in with a sample gitconfig I found online, and added my user information to the top like so: 

[user]
  name = John Smith
  email = [email protected]

I was then able to commit as my usual self, however I still don't have a .gitconfig in my root, so I am unable to config Git using git config --global, and must do the configurations manually in etc/gitconfig.

Upvotes: 5

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